


You Know I  Love You But I'm Playing For Keeps

by patdkitten



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Famous Harry, M/M, Non-Famous Louis, Sugar Baby Louis, Sugar Daddy Harry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-16
Updated: 2016-07-16
Packaged: 2018-07-24 09:30:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7503114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/patdkitten/pseuds/patdkitten
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry Styles, international pop star and teen heartthrob, is tired of pretending to be who he's not and wants to come out of the closet. Multiple offers had been made, numerous threats and dire predictions had gone unheard. Harry was <i>determined</i> to come out, and wanted to do it on his terms. Sony had pushed back, saying that if Harry wanted to come out, they had stipulations and terms of their own.</p>
<p>Which had brought them into bringing a PR relationship into play, which is why Liam Payne of Sony Music had contacted Louis. While Louis could understand wanting a big pop star's first openly gay relationship to be one that was manufactured behind the scenes, the part he still didn't get was why they'd wanted someone like Louis instead of someone already in the industry. When he'd brought that point up, trying to make sense of it, it had been Harry Styles himself who had answered.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>Louis' a sugar baby uni student juggling a few sugar daddies to pay for his lifestyle, when he gets a job offer to be international pop star Harry Styles' fake boyfriend so Harry can come out of the closet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Know I  Love You But I'm Playing For Keeps

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ThoughOceansAway](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThoughOceansAway/gifts).



> For the prompt: Fake relationship au please where one is famous and one is not. It doesn't matter who. Could be a sugar daddy or prostitution thing even if you'd like. I hope I did it justice!
> 
>  
> 
> Title from "In Too Deep" by Genesis.
> 
> Kudos to S and K for cheerleading. They know what good work they do.

Louis clutches the mug of coffee the perky blonde secretary had handed him five minutes ago, trying to will his fingers to relax into something that looks normal and not like he's nervous. He wishes he could think of breathing exercises that actually _work_ , reminds himself that he's done meetings like this a hundred, a thousand times before. It's old hat for him at this point.

This meeting has been in the works for the past week, ever since the email for it came into his private email account. He'd actually considered not even opening it; he's a sugar baby, not a prostitute who answers to someone else, so he has final say in who his clients are. In his defense, when he'd seen who it was from, he'd actually thought Niall had figured out a way to prank him good. After all, why on _Earth_ would someone from Sony Music be emailing a _sugar baby_ to set up a meeting?

He'd spent an hour meandering around his flat – too expensive for a uni student's budget, the rent for the place is paid by a corporate lawyer who'd rather pay for the company he kept than finding a romantic relationship – before he'd sat down to read the email.

It had held absolutely nothing for him. It was a pretty standard email, all things considered. The writer, a Liam Payne who claimed to work for Sony Music, had a client that was looking for someone with Louis' skill set and wished to set up a meeting to discuss details. Mr. Payne had gone on to say that an associate had given them Louis' information, and that, regardless of the outcome of the meeting, Louis would be paid pretty handsomely for the day. Including any expenses he incurred getting to and from said meeting. The email had concluded with the address of Sony Music's headquarters in London, and a meeting time of 9 am the following week.

Louis had spent another hour, trying to decide if he wanted to at least go. He didn't have class that day, and would've only been spending the day marathoning Netflix with his cat Sailor instead of looking for a job he could actually explain to his family.

Which brought him to this rather uncomfortable chair, clutching a lukewarm coffee with enough sugar in it that he could balance a spoon in it and trying to figure out if he was staring at international teen heartthrob Harry Styles struggling under a hangover on the other side of the room.

He's just decided it's got to be the famous pop star hiding behind aviators when a door opens and a young man about Louis' age steps out, immediately coming over to Louis with hand outstretched.

“You must be Louis, then,” he says as Louis shakes the proffered hand. “I'm Liam Payne, the one who emailed you about the, uh....” The man trails off delicately, brown eyes flickering over to the man Louis' decided has just _got_ to be Harry Styles. He looks a bit nervous, like he's been put in a position he'd rather not be and Louis' his way out.

Louis decides he likes this man, so he reaches out to pat the man's shoulder. “You want to make me an offer for a delicate position. Is that what you mean, Payno?”

“It's Payne, not Payno.” Liam looks put-upon, and yup, Louis definitely likes this one. If the offer Liam had emailed him about includes getting to spend time with Liam himself, Louis thinks he'll take it just to see how far he can get this man to squirm. “But you're right. It's a very delicate position.” He steps aside, gesturing at the room behind him with the manila folders in his hand. “If you don't mind coming in, we can start the meeting shortly.”

As Louis enters the room, he can hear Liam behind him address the other man in the other room and. Oh. He was _right_ ; that was definitely Harry Styles in the flesh.

 

 

Forty five minutes later finds Louis staring down at a job offer that is, without a doubt, one of the best offers he's _ever_ gotten as a sugar baby.

Harry Styles, international pop star and teen heartthrob, is tired of pretending to be who he's not and wants to come out of the closet. Multiple offers had been made, numerous threats and dire predictions had gone unheard. Harry was _determined_ to come out, and wanted to do it on his terms. Sony had pushed back, saying that if Harry wanted to come out, they had stipulations and terms of their own.

Which had brought them into bringing a PR relationship into play, which is why Liam Payne of Sony Music had contacted Louis. While Louis could understand wanting a big pop star's first openly gay relationship to be one that was manufactured behind the scenes, the part he still didn't get was why they'd wanted someone like Louis instead of someone already in the industry. When he'd brought that point up, trying to make sense of it, it had been Harry Styles himself who had answered.

“I've had enough fake relationships with people in or adjacent to the music industry.” Harry had said, shrugging faintly as his tired green eyes had seemed to bore into Louis'. “Finding someone like you, who gets paid for their company, was one of the terms I got to set.” He'd smiled then, and Louis melted a bit inside at that, despite his best intentions. “I'm actually a bit sick of models and aspiring musicians, so a non-famous sugar baby sounds pretty nice to me.”

And, really, what could Louis have said to something like _that_?

Which brings Louis back to the job offer in front of him. It's a year long contract, subject to negotiation every few months if things aren't going in Harry's favour, and the longest arrangement Louis' ever been offered as a sugar baby. Even the arrangement he's got with the lawyer who pays for his flat now is only seven months old, just a month older then the length of time he's been in said flat.

The offer is simple and straightforward: Louis pretends to be Harry's boyfriend for a year, with appearances at events and concerts Harry goes to. He'll have to shuffle his classes, talk to his professors, because it'll involve a lot of travel on his part, and a lot of missed classes. He doesn't even know if his passport's current. The other downside to it is that Harry has to be the _only_ person Louis sees, especially in a sugar baby capacity, for a year, otherwise the ruse could go up in smoke, even with an NDA. But Harry, and Sony, will pay for everything Louis would need for the year, from any living expenses that he would incur to anything he needs for the events he goes to, and then some.

Louis reaches to pick up the pen Liam had set down by the paperwork, poised to sign the contracts, before he pauses and turns to Harry, the only person still in the room. “Do I have to live with you for the whole year this goes on?”  
Harry blinks at the question, although Louis' not sure if it's because the thought hadn't occurred to him or if he'd forgotten that Louis was still in the room, before smiling reassuringly. “It'll help sell the illusion that we're a happy couple if you're staying with me at my place. Don't worry about your rent or anything. Counts as a living expense after all.”

“Not what I was worried about.” Louis makes a face, setting the pen back down. “Unless you're okay with cats, I can't sign this if I have to live with you.”

“Love animals.” Harry leans forward, nudging the pen back into Louis' fingers. “If you're a cat parent, I think we'll get on swimmingly.”

Louis looks at him for a long moment, trying to figure him out before he picks up the pen and begins to sign all the paperwork. After all, he can do this because it'll be the easiest arrangement he's ever done _and_ he can have his cat on the job.

 

A couple weeks later, Louis' completely settled into the room that's going to be his for the next year while he's the pretend boyfriend slash sugar baby of one of the most popular musicians in current pop culture. Sailor's quite happy with the plush bed of the guest bedroom they've been given, which is good because Louis was a bit worried the cat would make a mess everywhere in retaliation for being moved from her territory. He had thought his being in a guest bedroom was a bit weird, considering that Harry was paying for his company, but Harry had brushed off any and all concerns.

“I don't know about you, but I'm going to need a separate, safe corner every so often.” Harry had smiled on day three when Louis had addressed that issue. “Besides, even though our arrangement's a pretty standard thing from what I've researched, I'd feel awful taking advantage of you just because I'm paying for your company.”

“But it's not taking advantage of me if we sleep together,” Louis had argued, although Harry had only smiled and walked out of the room. When Louis had gone looking for him to continue the discussion, Harry had changed the subject to a red carpet event he had coming up in the next few days, the first event where they would be photographed together.

Louis wishes his life was as easily settled in as his stuff. After he'd taken the offer, major chunks of his life had been easily taken care. He'd been shuffling around five different sugar daddies – a couple corporate lawyers, mostly interested in paying his bills in exchange for sex, a CEO that mostly just wanted Louis at his beck and call, a CFO that was tired of his shitty marriage but didn't want to break the prenup, and a politician who paid Louis pretty _damn _well to shove him around – and he'd thought it would be hard to put them on hold for a year, tell them he'd be unavailable to them for a year and that his finances would be handled by other people and that he'd contact them in a year's time to see about new arrangements, but it was a lot easier than he'd thought it'd be. There was certainly little questioning on the daddies' part, but considering one of the major facets of the relationship he had with each man had involved discretion, he wasn't that surprised that they didn't have questions.__

__Although he'd wanted to call his mum to give her the head's up on his new “relationship”, the NDA he'd signed had banned him from doing so. It had led, following the release of the pictures from the first red carpet event he'd appeared as Harry's date at, to an angry and confused phone call from home. Jay and her new husband Dan were the only members of Louis' family that knew the source of his income was being a sugar baby, and Jay frequently blamed herself that Louis had gotten himself into it. Sure enough, the phone call with his mum had brought up the old argument about Louis being a sugar baby, and Louis had to lie to his mum and say that what the tabs were saying were true: he'd been a guest at a big party a few months prior to the event where he'd met and subsequently got swept off his feet by Harry. They were blissfully happy, and _yes_ , he was living in Harry's house._ _

__Louis'd ended that phone call as quickly as he could, wondering if he'd ever be able to tell his mum the truth about his fake relationship with Harry Styles._ _

__

__

__Things go on like that. Louis goes to class whenever he can and fields questions about his very real boyfriend Harry Styles from girls who hadn't talked to him prior his new “relationship”. He goes to red carpet events in suits tailored to his curves that are paid for by Sony, and smiles at reporters who ask him if Harry's a good boyfriend. He fields a lot of phone calls from his sisters, which shouldn't be as much of a surprise as it is, because he'd known that Lottie and Fizzy had been fans of Harry ever since he won the X-Factor. He eats pretty damn well because Harry's a phenomenal cook, and he cuddles up with Sailor on the gorgeous leather couch that Harry's got in front of the massive plasma to marathon shows in his free time._ _

__And the strangest part? Although the arrangement is kept at a purely professional level on Harry's end in private, Louis thinks they're becoming something more than just the usual sugar daddy/sugar baby arrangements he's used to._ _

__He realises it three months into the arrangement, when he's sprawled on his stomach on Harry's fancy leather couch with Sailor curled up in the curve of the small of his back. He's watching Cutthroat Kitchen while Harry's sitting on the floor in front of the couch, pencil scratching away at musical composition paper while the musician works on a new song. If Louis puts the effort in, he could bury his fingers in Harry's long hair, scratch a bit at the other man's scalp. It's intimate, personal, and like nearly everything about this whole arrangement, it's something Louis' not used to._ _

__But. _But_. He finds himself wanting to be used to it._ _

__He shakes himself, causing Sailor to sleepily mewl from behind him. _It's just the nearness and always being around Harry_ , he scolds himself, _and the fact you haven't gotten any in three months. 's all.__ _

__It doesn't do much to help._ _

__

__Harry's tour starts toward the end of month five. Louis emails his professors to tell them he'll miss a lot of class to follow his boyfriend around for a few weeks and gets all his assignments. He also makes arrangements with his mum to take Sailor while he's on tour with Harry and tries not to think too heavily on the fact that, even if his mum doesn't know the truth, Harry's the first sugar daddy Louis' bringing home and not the first serious boyfriend._ _

__Dropping Sailor off in Doncaster for the few weeks Louis'll be gone turns into a spectacle, courtesy of Liam and his team. Louis finds his family splashed on the covers of tabs at local markets, and can't resist rolling his eyes at the headlines proclaiming how Harry's serious about him because he's meeting Louis' family._ _

__But he feels a slight tinge of guilt at the same time, wondering how the visit would have gone if he and Harry had gone as an _actual_ couple and not a fake couple pretending to be real. He decides that since as far as he knows, Harry has no intention of Louis meeting Harry's parents so there's no point in his dwelling on what ifs._ _

__

__Those thoughts are put in their place a week later when there's a big spectacle of _Louis_ meeting _Harry's_ parents and _that_ gets splashed everywhere, along with stories about their families meeting for the first time backstage at one of Harry's first concerts of his new tour. Unlike Louis and Harry's relationship, though, _those_ stories are real._ _

__It also gives Louis another twinge of guilt, because he finds out from Harry that Harry's family thinks their relationship is just as real as Louis' family thinks, and both families just hit it right off. Seeing both families mingling together happily makes Louis imagine family holidays spent at Harry's huge house, full of love and laughter._ _

__He tries not to think too hard on that, reminds himself that he's only going to be in this arrangement another six months and then he'll be out of Harry's life for good and vice versa._ _

__He manages to convince himself that he's not putting feelings where they don't exist halfway through the concert. He manages to convince himself that he's only getting ahead of himself and looking at what ifs once more._ _

__He convinces Harry in the privacy of their hotel room after the concert to add a physical aspect to their arrangement for the last few months. After, as he watches Harry sleeping from a combination of the exhaustion from the concert and the sex, Louis realises something else: all the convincing in the world can't change that he keeps wishing he were in a real relationship with Harry and not an arrangement like what they have._ _

__Three weeks later, when the seventh month meeting to discuss how things are progressing happens, Louis asks that when the breakup rumours happen, that they don't make either of them look bad. He pretends he doesn't see Harry giving him a questioning look and focuses instead on Liam agreeing._ _

__

__

__The last half of the year for the arrangement goes in a blur to Louis. After his few weeks on the road on Harry's tour, he heads back to London with a brief stop to pick up his cat from his mum's. He buries himself in schoolwork, only coming up for air when Harry comes back to London whenever he has a few days off in a row while on tour._ _

__It's a bit harder for Louis to remind himself that he's in a fake relationship at this point, when Harry comes home and they have epic long sex sessions, filled with minor moments that Louis had previously thought only belonged in real relationships._ _

__For example, Louis is _really_ fond of the fact that Harry loves making him breakfast in bed, and the both of them share it with each other and Sailor. Or that fact that, no matter what, there's always one orgasm Harry will pull out of Louis after edging him for what feels like hours. Or how, at the end of the sexual interludes before Harry has to get to where his next concert is, they always have a romantic, candlelit bath together._ _

__It's during one of those candlelit baths, somewhere in month nine and there's already rumours swirling that things aren't perfect in Harry and Louis' relationship, that Harry whispers something in Louis' ear that it takes him a moment to realise he didn't dream it, even if Louis' dozing off in the afterglow from the amazing orgasm he'd had before Harry had carried him into the bath._ _

__It awakens him immediately, though; chases all thoughts of dozing off and letting Harry take proper care of him as if Harry's his proper boyfriend. He turns to Harry, eyes wide and hoping that he'd misheard the man. “What did you just say?”_ _

__Harry shifts, green eyes flicking away before back to Louis. “I said I think I love you.”_ _

__He feels his world drop out from under him, can't feel the warmth of the bath, can't seem to catch his breath. It's not that he doesn't feel the same way, hasn't told himself multiple times that he couldn't possibly be in love with Harry, that he wished they were a real couple instead of a fake one. But it's a shock to his system to hear that _Harry_ feels the same way he does, even if it's only a little bit._ _

__He must be taking too long to respond to Harry's words because worry creeps into the other man's face and Harry holds up a hand. “You don't have to feel the same way, Lou.” His hand falls, lands on the edge of the tub but Louis' still busy staring at him in shock. “I. I know it's weird, being in a fake relationship, but. Getting to know you, I've been wishing we weren't a fake couple.”_ _

__He still can't get enough air into his lungs, but somehow Louis manages to respond. “How long have you felt this way?”_ _

__“I thought we were pretty close by month three, but I was picturing family holidays when our families met.” He hesitates, green eyes skating across Louis' face, and Louis wonders exactly how well Harry can read him after nearly a year because the other man suddenly looks relieved. “Oh thank god. I'm not alone.”_ _

__Louis shakes his head, leaning in to kiss Harry slowly. “You're not.”_ _

__The next day, Harry calls Liam. All further rumours of unhappiness in Louis and Harry's relationship die before they even begin, but month ten begins with new swirling rumours the happy couple is shopping for rings. Those rumours make Louis laugh because, although the arrangement is less an arrangement at that point and more an actual relationship, they're definitely fake rumours._ _

__

__The day Louis' contract ends, Harry crowds Louis up against the front door as soon as they get back to Harry's after the meeting. Louis can't stop the shiver that goes down his spine at that, nor his reaction to Harry placing his large hands on Louis' hips as he leans down to kiss Louis properly._ _

__“How should we celebrate?” Harry whispers against Louis' lips when they finally come up for air._ _

__Louis smiles, reaching behind him to open the door. “Oh, I've got a few ideas of what we could do.”_ _

__Later, when they're both absolutely sated on each other, Harry crawls out of bed. Louis watches him go drowsily._ _

__“While I admire the gorgeous view now that we're proper and all,” he broke off in a wide yawn. “Where are you going?”_ _

__“I'm hungry.” Harry chuckles, coming back and leaning down to kiss him slowly. He also runs a hand up Louis' inner thigh, and despite Louis' cock being trapped between his body and the sheets, Louis can feel it taking an interest. “Bet you are too.”_ _

__“Bet I could go another round.” Louis grins hazily, settling back down and watching Harry go._ _

__

__

__A month later, Louis reevaluates his life as it is. As his relationship with Harry is now a proper one and not a fake one anymore, he never moves back into his flat. In fact, he moves all of his stuff _out_ of the flat and into Harry's place, at Harry's insistence. He does have some concerns that they might wind up falling apart, but it balances out that if they survived a year of being in a fake relationship, they can survive anything._ _

__In the process of moving himself and his cat from his old life as a sugar baby with multiple men paying for everything to a uni student with a famous musician boyfriend paying for everything, Louis considers contacting his former daddies to tell them he's dropping out of that life entirely. But then, while he's shopping for dinner for the two of them, he sees a pap picture of Harry and himself taken two months before on the cover of a tabloid and he decides against it. After all, for being a non-famous uni student, Louis' on a lot of covers these days and the discreet lifestyle that his past life had called for is no longer relevant, and the other men could probably guess he's not about to come back to them._ _

__He winds up adding a bottle of champagne to his basket and goes home to his musician boyfriend to tell him about his decision. He finds Harry in the kitchen, and they wind up celebrating his decision right there in the kitchen. The food Louis brought home is absolutely forgotten until after, and Harry can't help but kiss him multiple times as he makes dinner._ _

__Louis can't help the smile on his face. Yeah, giving up his past life was a good idea._ _

__

__There's a moment in time that makes Louis pause two years later._ _

__He knows, in the way he remembers every significant date in the evolution of his and Harry's relationship from a beneficial fake relationship between daddy and baby to an actual relationship, that the day itself is the day he opened the email that brought him into a pop star's life. Harry doesn't even own the house they'd started in anymore, sold it half a year after they'd made their relationship official and had celebrated by buying Louis a house with a pool surrounded by a high hedge so Louis could work on an even tan and a scruffy little moggy they'd named Captain. There are rumours swirling again about how they're shopping for rings, and this time Louis knows those rumours are true._ _

__But the thing is, he finds himself wondering how his life would be different if he _hadn't_ opened the email from Liam. There was a time when Louis could've done it, imagined a life where he wasn't the now famous former uni student who captured pop star Harry Styles' heart, but now? Now he can't do it._ _

__And he finds that he can't bring himself to care._ _

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me after they reveal authors :)


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